Atletico Madrid News
Simeone talks Carrasco, Griezmann, De Paul, Europa League after Atletico Madrid 2-2 Leverkusen
Atletico Madrid’s season took a turn for the worse on Wednesday night as they were eliminated from the UEFA Champions League following their 2-2 draw against Bayer Leverkusen.
Coming into the game, Los Rojiblancos knew that they needed to match FC Porto’s result against Club Brugge to stay alive in the competition. And while the Portuguese side cruised to a win in their match, Atletico could not muster up a win.
Having gone down twice in the game, Atleti forced their way back through goals from Rodrigo De Paul and Yannick Carrasco. And the latter could have won it for his team late in stoppage time, but saw his penalty get saved, confirming the Rojiblancos exit.
Speaking after the match, manager Diego Simeone expressed disappointment at how things had panned out for his team, while also commenting on the performances of his players and the team’s prospects in the Europa League, which they need to qualify for as the third-place in Group B is still up for grabs.
On the UCL elimination: “A difficult, hard and unexpected moment in the project we have at the club. It is the second time in ten years that we have been here that we have been eliminated. It was not planned but it is reality, which also says that last year it cost us a lot.
“And this time, despite the fact that I think we deserved more, there are two places to put yourself, in victimhood or in continuing to work, I choose to continue working.”
On how De Paul’s introduction improved the team: “In the first half the team was thick, they couldn’t find ways and they scored on the two occasions they had. They took advantage of that and in the second half, it was a dynamic team, intense, with speed, with arrival, with the feeling that we were going to win.
“The synthesis of what has happened to us in this Champions League was the penalty. It was finished, they call us, the goalkeeper saves, Saúl hits the crossbar and Reinildo’s shot hits Carrasco. When things are taken out of your life others appear and we will look for the ones that will appear.”
On whether he spoke to Carrasco: “Yannick had a great game, he returned to his best level. It’s a satisfying note. The good performance of De Paul, of Kondogbia, the effort of Molina… Within a hard defeat, a negative moment, there are good things.”
On qualifying for the Europa League: “It will be difficult because you have to win, Porto will want to win to be first, Club Brugge will most likely lose in Germany. We have to win.”
On leaving Stefan Savic on the bench: “I understood that with Hermoso we could have a faster exit pass to connect between the lines. Savic and Giménez came from many games together and we saw that we could improve that start with a fresh central defender, as we have been playing every three days.
“I saw the possibility of playing with Hermoso and Giménez to improve that situation. Neither Hermoso nor Correa are responsible, the second half we played better.”
On why Carrasco took the penalty: “Just like against Espanyol, at the last minute he shot at a difficult moment for the team and scored the goal. He also shot against Real Madrid and is one of the shooters who can take charge. Griezmann was tired and Yannick assumed the responsibility and that is very valuable on my part.”
On whether Antoine Griezmann should have taken it: I don’t agree with anything you say. But I value and accept it because it is an opinion. Griezmann was very tired and Carrasco asked for the ball as the referee went to VAR. And Carrasco is one of the penalty-takers.
“When a shooter is confident and asks for a penalty, his teammates gave it to him and unfortunately it went wrong and allows us to have the opinion that you are developing.”
On his mindset after the game: “I have no doubt that the Champions League is difficult for me. We lost one final on penalties and another in the 93rd minute. But I’m hard-headed, I’m going to keep pushing till I am at this club, entering the Champions League first and searching and finding something that we lack.”
Source: AS
Atletico Madrid News
Atletico Madrid monitoring teenage striker with €40 million release clause – Romano
According to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, Atletico Madrid are among the clubs monitoring the progress of UD Almeria striker Marciano Sanca.
The 19-year-old Guinea-Bissau forward joined Almeria from Portuguese outfit Leixoes in January last year, linking up with the club’s B team.
Marciano has made three league appearances Almeria’s reserve team and has not scored a goal yet. The teenager has been training with the first-team setup regularly and Romano claims that he is close to making his debut in La Liga.
While he might not have made a splash at the senior level yet, Marciano seems to be already gathering admirers with Atletico Madrid, Villarreal and Brighton & Hove Albion said to be tracking the youngster.
Los Rojiblancos are set to enter the market for a new centre-forward as Joao Felix is expected to be sold permanently while Alvaro Morata’s future is also not entirely certain.
So even though Diego Simeone has Memphis Depay, Angel Correa, and Morata at his disposal, Atletico Madrid will dive into the market for a new striker with there being links to Mateo Retegui of Boca Juniors, currently on loan at Tigre.
Now, Marciano has also emerged as a potential target or Atletico Madrid, although signing him will not be easy in the summer.
Even though the 19-year-old’s contract expires in 2024, he is bound by a release clause worth €40 million and Almeria intend to keep him at the club beyond this season.
So, the La Liga club might hold out for the entire release clause amount in order to stave off potential suitors like Atletico Madrid, who are not in a position to make such an investment on an unproven youngster.
